Half of Americans Still Feeling Effects of Great Recession

More than half of Americans say they are still feeling the effects of the Great Recession. (Flickr: Investment Zen)

All About America April 30, 2018

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The aftershocks of the Great Recession of 2007-2009 continue to reverberate across the American economy and political landscape.

A new survey finds that more than half (52 percent) of Americans are still feeling the impact of the dramatic economic downturn on their personal finances. Furthermore, nearly three in four Americans (73 percent) say politicians are to blame, according to the survey conducted by Morning Consult, a market research firm. Seventy-two percent blame the banking industry.

Middle-class Americans appear to be the most likely to report that the recession still impacts them, with 57 percent earning between $50,000 and $100,000 per year saying they were still feeling the aftershocks. For those making less than $50,000, it was 51 percent and 51 percent of those making over $100,000.

To gain an understanding of just how much damage was done by the Great Recession, the Washington Postreported earlier this month that the jobs lost in so-called Trump country, areas where President Donald Trump won handily in the 2016 election, have only just now recovered to pre-recession levels.

Furthermore, the unemployment rate in December of 2007 was five percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by October of 2009, it stood at 10 percent.

“The employment decline experienced during the December 2007 – June 2009 recession was greater than that of any recession of recent decades,” the BLS wrote in a document cataloging the effects of the Great Recession.

Despite a growing economy, the shadow of the Great Recession still lingers in many Americans’ minds, with 65 percent of Americans saying they were fearful of another economic crisis in the near future. These people reported they were avoiding debt and not buying big ticket items.

But the Morning Consult survey found that 74 percent of Americans say their financial health is “fair, good or excellent,” but only 11 percent called their financial health “excellent.”

In Japan, we faced a great recession at 1992. And then, we are struggling continuously until now. Almost Japanese could not use money by fears. For 25 years, we are in deflational spiral, despite easy monetary policy.